Abdoulaye Konaté

The artist

Abdoulaye Konaté, born in Diré in 1953, is one of Africa's leading figures in the visual arts. He works in tapestry, dressmaking, painting and sculpture, using fabric as his main creative material. He creates installations in which he uses traditional objects as an alphabet. By combining Western modernism with African symbolism, he fuses the expressiveness of traditional textiles with symmetrical, even hierarchical compositions, evoking the protection of ethnic and cultural heritage, Africa's place in the world, and global socio-political relations that resonate far beyond his local context.

Exhibitions

Biography

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Birth Born in Diré, Mali in 1953
Lives and works in Bamako, Mali
Education Institut National des Arts of Bamako
1972 – 1976 Institut National des Arts de Bamako, Mali
1978 – 1985 Institut Supérieur des Arts Plastiques de La Havane, Cuba

SOLO EXHIBITIONS (SELECTION)

2024 TEMPLON, Brussels, Belgium
2023 Prélude, LGDR, Paris, France
2022 Between Oneirism and Reality, La Galerie 38, Casablanca, Morocco
Hommage à Abdoulaye Konaté, l’étoffe d’un maître, Dak’Art, Senegal
Des Petits Formats à Dakar, Grand Théâtre National, Dakar, Senegal
2021 Les Plis de l’âme, La Galerie 38, Casablanca, Morocco
Les Petits Tableaux, Primae Noctis Art Gallery, Lugano, Switzerland / Primo Marella Gallery, Milan, Italy
Lune Bleue, Espace Dominique Bagouet, Montpellier, France
The Diffusion of Infinite Things, Standing Pine, Nagoya, Japan
2020 Idéogrammes, signes, symbols et logos, Zeitz MOCAA, Cape Town, South Africa
Couleur d’âme, Blain|Southern, New York, USA
Abdoulaye Konaté, Gallery 1957, Accra, Ghana
2018 Textile in Art, The Red Door Gallery, Lagos, Nigeria
Abdoulaye Konaté, Richard Koh Fine Art, Kuala Lampur, Malaysia
2017 L’étoffe des songes, galerie 38, Casablanca, Morocco
L’étoffe des songes – Afrique en capitale, Fondation CDG, Rabat, Morocco
Abdoulaye Konaté, Musée Mohamed VI, Rabat, Morocco

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2016 Abdoulaye Konaté, ARKEN Museum for Moderne Kunst, Ishøj, Denmark
Symphonie en couleur, Blain|Southern, London, UK
Abdoulaye Konaté, Primae Noctis Art Gallery, Lugano, Switzerland
Abdoulaye Konaté, Primo Marella Gallery, Milan, Italy
2015 Useful Dreams, Blain|Southern, Berlin, Germany
Abdoulaye Konaté, Norrköping Konstmuseum, Norrköping, Sweden
Abdoulaye Konaté, Primo Marella Gallery, Milan, Italy
Southern Panoramas, 19th Festival Contemporary Art Festival, São Paulo, Brazil
2014 Le pouvoir du textile, Galerie le Manège, Biennale d’art contemporain, Dakar, Senegal
2013 Abdoulaye Konaté, The World in Textile, Afrika Museum, Berg en Dal, Netherlands
Abdoulaye Konaté, Primo Marella Gallery, Milan, Italy
2012 Abdoulaye Konaté, ESADHar – École Supérieure d’Art et Design, Le Havre, France
Abdoulaye Konaté, Teintures Teintures, Maison Revue Noire, Paris, France
Abdoulaye Konaté, Fondation Festival sur le Niger, Ségou, Mali
Abdoulaye Konaté, Project Window, Iniva, Rivington Place, London, UK
2011 La toile d’Abdoulaye Konaté, Galerie Nationale d’Art de Dakar, Senegal
Galerie VIP, Marseille, France
2010 Abdoulaye Konaté, Rétrospective, Biennale De Dakar, Senegal
2009 Abdoulaye Konaté, Le Temps de Dance, Galerie Saro Leon, Las Palmas, Canary Islands, Spain
Abdoulaye Konaté: Textile, Forum für Kunst, Heidelberg, Germany
2001 Chapelle Jeanne d’Arc, Thouars, France
1999 Tuchbilder + Installation, Dany Keller Galerie, Munich, Germany
1998 Galerie GO, Abidjan, Ivory Coast
1992 Abdoulaye Konaté, Musée National du Mali, Bamako, Mali
Abdoulaye Konaté, Institut Fondamental d’Afrique Noire, Dakar, Senegal
1990 Paysages et Masques II, Galerie Tatou, Bamako, Mali
1988 Galerie GO, Abidjan, Ivory Coast
1983 Abdoulaye Konaté, Le Petit Salon, La Havane, Cuba
1976 Abdoulayé Konaté, Maison du Peuple, Diré, Mali

COLLECTIVE EXHIBITIONS (SELECTION)

2023 14th Gwangju Biennale, Gwanju, South Korea
2022 Documenta 15, Kassel, Germany
Still alive, Aichi Triennale, Japan
Expo Dubai 2020, Mali Pavillon, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Current Identities, Bode Project, Berlin, Germany
Un Fil Rouge, with Barthélémy Toguo, Ky Siriki And Soly Cissé, Gallery 1957, Accra, Ghana
2021 The Black Era, Primo Marella Gallery, Milan, Italy
Threads, Zwartzusters monastery, Duende Art Projects, Antwerp, Belgium
2020 Global(e) Resistance, Centre Pompidou, Paris, France
2019 Africa Universe, Primo Marella Gallery, Milan, Italy
Africa Universe, Primo Marella Gallery, Lugano, Switzerland
Hier est la mémoire d’aujourd’hui, L’espace Commines, Paris, France
Boundless Encounters : The 3rd Hangzou Triennal of Fiber Art, Hangzhou, China
On the Spiritual Matter of Art, MAXXI Museo nazionale delle arti del XXI secolo, Rome, Italy
KUBATANA : An Exhibition with Contemporary African artists, Vestfossen Kunstlaboratorium, Oslo, Norway
Lend Me Your Dream / Prête-moi Ton Rêve – Traveling exhibition ; Le Studio des Arts Vivants, L’Artorium, Casablanca, Morocco ; Museum of Black Civilizations, Dakar, Senegal ; The Contemporary Arts Rotonde, Abidjan, Ivory Coast ; Lagos, Nigeria ; Cape Town, South Africa ; African Union Headquarters Addis-Abeba, Ethiopia ; Rabbat, Morocco
La construcción de lo possible, 13th Havana Biennial, Cuba
2018 African Civilizations : Continous Creation of Humanity, Museum of Black Civilizations, Dakar, Senegal
New Materialism, Bonniers Konsthall, Stockholm, Sweden
African Metropolis. An imaginary city, MAXXI, Rome, Italy
Ravelled Threads, Sean Kelly Gallery, New York, USA
Talisman in the Age of Difference, Stephen Friedman Gallery, London, UK
Pulling out Threads, Norval Foundation, Cape Town, South Africa
Mobile Worlds or The Museum of our Transcultural Present, Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe, Hamburg, Germany
2017 Metropolis Afrique Capitales, la Villette, Paris, France
Viva Arte Viva, 57th Biennale, Venice, Italy
Vers le Cap de Bonne Espérance, Gare Saint Sauveur, Lille, France
The Summer Show 2017, Royal Academy of Arts, London, UK
L’Afrique en capitale, musée Mohammed VI d’Art Moderne et Contemporain, Rabat, Morocco

Voir plus

2016 Still (the) Barbarians, EVA International, Irish Biennial, Limerick, Ireland
12 Solos, Blain|Southern, Berlin, Germany
Afterwork, ILHAM Gallery, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Promenade à Bamako, Eiffage, Contemporary Art Biennial, Dakar, Senegal
2015 ART_TEXTILES, The Whitworth, The University of Manchester, Manchester, UK
19th Contemporary Art Festival Sesc_Videobrasil | Southern Panoramas, São Paulo, Brazil
Streamlines: Metaphorical and Geopolitical Interpretations of the Oceans, Deichtorhallen International Kunst
und Fotografie, Hambourg, Germany
Obsession, Maison Particulière, Brusels, Belgium
Katrine Helmersson and Abdoulaye Konaté, Norrköping Konstmuseum, Norrköping, Sweden
2014 How Far How Near, Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam, Netherlands
2013 The Divine Comedy: Heaven, Hell, Purgatory revisited by Contemporary African Artists, National Museum of
African Art, Smithsonian Institute, Washington, USA
The Divine Comedy: Heaven, Hell, Purgatory revisited by Contemporary African Artists, Museum für Moderne
Kunst, Francfort, Germany
Decorum, Musée d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris, France
International Sculpture Route Amsterdam Art Zuid 2013, Amsterdam, Netherlands
Marker 2013, Madinat Jumeirah, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Métamorphoses, Musée Bargoin, Clermont Ferrand, France
2012 Hollandaise, SMBA, Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam, Netherlands
We face forward: Art from West Africa today, Whitworth Art Gallery, The University of Manchester, UK
RAW Material Company, Centre pour l’Art, le Savoir et la Société, Dakar, Senegal
2011 Dégagements… La Tunisie un an après, Institut du Monde Arabe, Paris, France
Mixités : Daouda N'Diaye, Abdoulaye Konaté, Nestor Da, Aimé Mpane, Romuald Hazoume, Ndary Lo - Les
chantiers de la Lune, La Seyne-sur-mer, France
Fondation Festival sur le Niger, Ségou, Mali
2010 Primo Marella Gallery, Milan, Italy
Festival des Arts nègres, Dakar, Senegal
L'Art actuel d'Afrique, Collégiale Saint-André, Chartres, France
Textiles ou Fragments de l'Histoire d'une Collection, Fondation Jean-Paul Blachère, Bonnieux, France
2009 Africa Una Nuova Storia. Complesso del Vittoriano, Rome, Italy
Havana Biennial, Cuba
2008 Artes Mundi, Musée National de Cardiff, UK
INPUT, Colecção Sindika Dokolo - Museu Nacional de História Natural, Luanda, Angola
Travesía, Centro Atlántico de Arte Moderno (CAAM), Las Palmas, Canary Islands, Spain
7th Gwangju Biennale, Gwangju, South Korea
Angaza Afrika - African Art Now, October Gallery, London, UK
Afrique : Miroir ? Biennale d’Art contemporain, Dakar, Senegal
Grey Art Gallery New York, New York University, USA
1st Brussels Biennal, Brussels, Belgium
2007 Three Questions for Art and Its Audience, Documenta 12, Documenta - Kassel, Germany
Brocken Memory, Ghana National Art Museum, Accra, Ghana
Contact Zone, Musée National du Mali, Bamako, Mali
Africa Remix, Contemporary art of a continent: Museum Kunstpalast, Dusseldorf, Germany
Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris, France
Hayward Gallery, London, UK
Mori Art Museum, Tokyo, Japan
Johannesburg Art Gallery, South Africa
2006 Unhomely: Phantom Scenes in Global Society, 2nd International Biennal of Contemporary Art, Sevilla
(BIACS 2), Sevilla, Spain
Angola Pop, Triennale de Luanda, Angola
Afrique : Entendus, Sous-entendus et malentendus, Biennale d’art contemporain, Dakar, Senegal
Chambre Malienne, Fondation Jean-Paul Blachère, Bonnieux, France
2004 Africa Remix, Kunspalast, Dusseldorf, Germany
2003 Musée du design et des arts appliqués contemporains de Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
Palais des Beaux-arts, Brussels, Belgium
Maison des Arts, Paris, France
2002 Musée de Picardie, Amiens, France
2001 Abdoulaye Konaté, Amahiguere Dolo et Ismaël Diabate, Grand Théâtre d'Angers, France
1998 Routes of Passage, Johannesburg Biennale, Johannesburg, South Africa
24th Biennale of São Paulo, Brazil
7th Triennale der Kleinplastik, Stuttgart, Germany
1997 Die Anderen Modernen, Haus der Kulturen der Welt, Berlin, Germany
Modernities and Memories, Venice Biennale, Venice, Italy
Permanent installation, Lisbon, Portugal
1996 The Other Journey, Kunst Halle, Krems, Austria
1995 Rencontres Africaines, Caixa General de Deposito, Lisbon, Portugal
African art of our time: an inside story, Setagaya Museum, Tokyo, Japan
Otro Pais, Palais de la Vireina, Barcelona, Spain
1994 Rencontres Africaines, Institut du Monde Arabe, Paris, France
Otro Pais, Centre Atlantique d’Art Moderne, Las Palmas, Canary Islands, Spain
1992 Biennale de Dakar, Senegal
1991 Regard Croisés, Musée National du Mali, Bamako, Mali
Siège World Bank, Banque Mondiale, Washington, USA
Association pour la Diffusion de l'Art Plastique Africain Contemporain (A.D.A.P.A.C.) Paris, France
Tsurumoto Room Co, LTD Shibuyo, Shibuyo Ku-Tokyo, Japan
1990 ADEIAO, Musée National des Arts d'Afrique et d'Océanie, Paris, France
1986 Biennale de la Havane, La Havane, Cuba
Artistes Maliens et Soviétiques au Palais de la Culture, Palais de la Culture, Bamako, Mali
1984 Havana Biennial, La Havane, Cuba
1983 Salon 13 de Marzo, Galerie Oriente, Santiago de Cuba, Cuba
8th Mali Artistic and Cultural Biennal, Palais de la Culture, Bamako, Mali
1978 Jeunes Peintres du Mali, Institut National des Arts, Bamako, Mali

HONORS

2009 Officier de l’Ordre National du Mali
2002 Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres de la République française
1996 Grand Prix Léopold Sédar Senghor, Biennale d’Art Africain, Dakar

PRIZES AND AWARDS

2008 Prix passeport - Créateurs sans Frontières, France
1996 Prix de la Biennale de Dakar, Senegal
Docteur Honoris Causa en Art de l’Institut Supérieur des Arts Plastiques de La Havane (ISA), Cuba
1985 Painting first prize, Salon 13 Marzo de l’Université de La Havane, Cuba

PUBLIC COLLECTIONS (SELECTION)

Africain Al Maaden, MACAAL, Marrakech, Morocco
Afrika Museum, Berg en Dal, Netherlands
Arken Museum, Copenhagen, Denmark
Banque des États de l’Afrique Occidentale, Dakar, Senegal
Centre Pompidou, Paris, France

BIBLIORAPHY (SELECTION)

2022 Abdoulaye Konaté, Primo Marella Gallery, Milan, Italy
2019 Africa Universe, Primo Marella Gallery, Milan, Italy
2017 The Black Sphinx, Primo Marella Gallery, Milan, Italy
2013 The World in textile, Afrika Museum, Berg en Dal, Netherlands
2010 Guide des artistes plasticiens du Mali/ Tomes 1 et 2. Acte Sept, Mali
Africa, Assume Art Position !, Primo Marella Gallery, Milan, Italy
2009 La Biennale de Dakar : Pour une esthétique de la création contemporaine africaine; Interview with Adorno of Yacouba Konaté and Valentin Yves Mudimbé. Éditions L’Harmattan. Paris, France

Voir plus

Martinez Nadine. Art contemporain/Art traditionnel : Aller-retour Mali-Mali. Éditions L’Harmattan, Paris, France
2008 Spring Chris. Angaza Afrika: African Art Now. Lawrence King
2007 Documenta XII Kassel, Taschen
2006 France 2nd International Biennial of Contemporary Art of Seville (BIACS 2): The Unhomely: Phantom Scenes in Global Society, Actar, Sevilla
2005 Africa Remix, édition du Centre Pompidou, Paris, France
2002 Fall N'Goné et Pivin Jean Loup. Anthology of African Art, The Twentyth Century. Revue Noire Editions and New York: DAP, Paris, France
2001 Mali Kow : un monde fait de tous les mondes. Montpellier : éditions Indigènes
Konaté, Dolo, Diabaté : peintures – sculptures – installations. Angers : éditions ville d’Angers, France
Fall N'Goné et Pivin Jean Loup. Anthologie de l’art africain du XXe siècle. Paris, Revue Noire Editions, Paris, France
2000 Busca Joëlle. Perspectives sur l'art contemporain africain: 15 artistes. Éditions L'Harmattan, Paris, France
Abdoulaye Konaté plasticien, (les carnets de la création). Éditions de l’œil, Paris, France
1999 Estaçào Oriente, Metropolitano de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugual
1997 Suites africaines. Couvent des Cordeliers, Paris, France
1996 Alain David, Abdoulaye Konaté, Jean-Sébastien Leblond-Duniach : Expositions, Amiens: éditions de Comité-relais Fondation France-libertés et Urbis. Paris, France
1995 African art of our time: An inside story. Tokyo, The Japan Association of Museums
1994 Rencontres africaines, Institut du Monde Arabe, Paris, France

Press

Dyptik - March 21, 2024

Abdoulaye Konaté tisse patiemment sa cote

Céline Moine

Le Point - October 20, 2022

Abdoulaye Konaté, l'esprit des formes et des couleurs

Valérie Marin La Meslée

TLMAG - July 6, 2021

Symphony in Konaté Major

Sibylle Grandchamp

Frieze - November 4, 2020

How Abdoulaye Konaté Knits Together West African Cultural Heritage

Ayodeji Rotinwa

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